Motor Vehicle stops decrease due to a short staff

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Motor vehicle stops have steadily decreased in Wilton because the police department is short staffed, police said.

Wilton Police Chief Michael Lombardo said motor vehicle stops last month were down 50 percent from November 2008. The main cause for the decrease is two less full-time officers on duty, he said.

“We don’t have the people to put out on the road as often and as frequent as we did last year,” said Lombardo at a Police Commission meeting Tuesday. “Not having enough manpower is definitely a concern of ours.”

The police department is currently trying to figure out a way to get officers out on the road without going over their overtime budget, he said.

“We are trying to find a proper balance to cover as many roads as we can without going over our budget,” said Lombardo.

Last year, there were 589 motor vehicle stops in Wilton, according to police officials. This November, motor vehicle stops dipped below 300, a figure which concerns Police Commissioner Mark Ketley.

“I know that manpower is a problem,” said Ketley. “But we need to figure out a way to get a presence out there and get the numbers up.”

Now, with all four of the Route 7 lanes opening Thursday, there might be more vehicles speeding down the road, said Police Commissioner Matt Mason .

“All of the lanes on Route 7 will be open soon and we need to make sure that we have people out there,” he said. “When we are asked what our biggest complaints are, they are about traffic speed and traffic volume. We need to make sure we control that on Route 7.”

The goal of the police department is to be prepared for whatever traffic problems Route 7 will cause, said Lombardo. During his meetings with officers in the past couple of weeks, he said, he has stressed they should be prepared for anything.

“From a safety standpoint, we need to be prepared instead of responsive,” said Lombardo. “We know that we need to have officers out there to keep traffic flowing at a safe speed. Traffic is a concern to us and always has been. We just need to find a proper balance.”